Elder Charles W. Penrose, of the Council of the Twelve, was chosen to succeed John Henry Smith in the First Presidency, December 7, 1911.  President Penrose was born February 4, 1832, at Camberwell, London, England.  When he was four years old he could read the Bible.  At eighteen he joined the Church, and being so well versed in the scriptures he was soon called on a mission.  For ten years he traveled about his native land preaching the gospel, healing many of the sick and organizing branches of the Church.  He suffered from hardships and persecution, but he kept right on until he was released, when he emigrated to Utah.  Since then President Penrose has filled many missions.  He is a clear, forceful speaker, and he has written much on doctrinal subjects.  He was for many years editor of the Deseret News.  He wrote a number of our best songs.  He was called and ordained to be an apostle and set apart as one of the Twelve, July 7, 1904.  He presided over the European Mission from December, 1906, to June, 1910.

In January, 1903, Reed Smoot was elected Senator to represent Utah in the Congress of the United States at Washington.  As he is a leading official in the Church, some anti-"Mormons” objected to his retaining the office to which he was elected.  They sent a protest to the Senate, and that body appointed a committee to investigate the charges made.  President Smith and many of the brethren were summoned to Washington to give their testimony.  All of this led to much agitation and misrepresentation against the Church.  Senator Smoot retained his seat.

During recent years the Church has been growing both at home and abroad.  Property is being acquired in many parts of the world, and mission houses are being erected.  Carthage Jail, in Illinois, the farm containing the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and a large part of the Temple grounds at Independence, Missouri, have been purchased by the Church.

In the year 1905 a monument of polished granite was erected and a comfortable and commodious cottage was built on the site of the Prophet’s birth, on the farm purchased by the Church, in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont.  The monument is 50 feet and 10 inches high and weighs nearly 100 tons.  The shaft is 38-3/4 feet long, each foot corresponding to one year of the Prophet’s life.  The cottage is built around the original hearthstone of the old Smith home.  On December 23rd, 1905—­the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Prophet—­this cottage and monument were dedicated by President Joseph F. Smith, who, with a number of the leading brethren of the Church and a few Saints, had gone to Vermont for that purpose.  The monument contains a written description of the Prophet’s testimony and stands as a silent witness of the great work he was called upon by the Lord to perform.

[Illustration:  JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT AND MEMORIAL COTTAGE.]

For many years past, the Saints had been making settlements in Mexico, and establishing themselves there in good homes.  In the year 1912 the disturbances in the country broke out into civil war, and because of the dangers attendant on the fighting between various factions, most of the Latter-day Saints had to leave the country and their possessions and come to the United States.